From Hand to Mouth1920

With its large ensemble cast and elaborate location shooting, FROM HAND TO MOUTH signals Harold Lloyd’s mature phase following innumerable one-reelers. He begins the film on the skids, salting a chicken bone as he eyes a lunch counter. Lured into a kidnapping scheme, Lloyd’s fall guy ends up springing the damsel in distress so she can claim her rightful inheritance. The plot mechanics may be convoluted but the ambulatory gags are a picture of elegance. The film makes the grade as slapstick sociology as well, showing, for example, that the only way for a bum to attract a policeman’s attention is to bonk him over the head.